“Against a backdrop of challenging market conditions, it is unsurprising that growth in permanent salaries has been relatively modest over the past year. However, it is encouraging that pay across the country is continuing to rise.

“The fact that contract rates have grown almost two-and-a-half times as fast as permanent salaries over the past year highlights where businesses’ priorities lie at the moment. Employers are focusing on projects that maximise efficiencies or work they consider business critical and are prepared to pay in order to secure the best contractors to complete these tasks.”